Venomus Sting
by BombasticSimpleton
Summary: Taylor had thought she only found the perfect base to start her hero career. Instead, she found the best partner she could ever hope to find.
1. Chapter 1

Venomus Sting

The docks looked much more menacing at night I idly thought to myself as I walked through the outer edges of it. I wasn't nervous though, not nearly as worried as a fifteen-year-old girl walking through this area at night should be.

There were four excellent reasons for this.

One, I was carrying a small canister of mace my dad had gotten me for when I went out for my morning runs.

Two, I had recently purchased a defense baton from the local Army surplus store to add to my protection.

Three was the fact that underneath my street clothes I was wearing a body stocking that was for all intents and purposes bulletproof.

Four was the massive swarm of insects and spiders I had been gathering as I walked towards my destination. They were spread out over a three block radius forming a perfect circle, with me at the center giving me a complete awareness of everything in the area through them.

Oh, did I forget to mention that I'm a parahuman?

Yes I, Taylor Hebert had joined the elite. Those with powers that beggared the imagination and told physics to go fornicate with itself on a regular basis, with the impressive ability to control bugs.

My powers weren't exactly what one would think of when one thought of the word heroic. Controlling a massive swarm of bugs wouldn't have the people screaming my name in adulation, although I'm pretty sure there would be crying involved. With my luck, I'd labeled a villain on my first night out.

No, that wasn't a note of bitterness in my thoughts.

Alright, maybe I was a little bit bitter.

I had dreamed of having powers since I was a kid. Fighting alongside the likes of Alexandria and Legend, bringing down bad guys, it was always one of my favorite fantasies then merely because who wouldn't want to fight alongside them.

Though I had always admired Alexandria for her strength and integrity as well as the fact she had fought in nearly Endbringer battle since they had appeared, I had found myself gravitating towards Mouse Protector over the last year for reasons I am not going even to think about right now.

I envied her carefree attitude and view on life. The fact that she always had something witty to say or a sarcastic one-liner when she was fighting villains was just icing on the cake.

I was pulled out of my thoughts as my swarm informed me I had reached my destination, pausing at the edge of the building I had been walking beside, keeping in the shadows as much as possible. There sitting three hundred yards away was the reason for my presence at the edge of the docks.

Surrounded by a ten-foot high heavy-duty chain link fence topped by barbed wire was a large abandoned factory. The reason for my interest was the fact I was in dire need of a secure location to hide my bugs as well as a place to complete my costume of which my body stocking was a part.

I had initially planned on using the basement of my house but the chemicals I would have to use to make the armored sections of my costume produced powerful fumes, leaving a strong chemical smell in the poorly vented basement. I had barely gotten the air cleared before my dad got home.

The most obvious solution was the find a place in one of the many abandoned factories or warehouses that seemed so prolific anymore. The problem with that would be scouting suitable locations as well as keeping it secure from anyone that might find it. With the number of parahumans, the city seemed to produce people were always on the lookout for a new cape looking to set up shop.

I had to be smart about it because sometimes in this line of work your first mistake could be your last. Following that line of reasoning, I decided on a plan of action I had not considered because of its...slight illegality.

The only reason I could even consider this plan was a truly bizarre case of being in the right place at the right time.

Several weeks ago I was spending my Saturday morning pursuing the offerings of the local flea market looking for yet another backpack to replace the one that had been ruined on Friday.

I had been looking around for a while when I was taking a break from the heat from inside I was wandering around one of the areas where people could sell their things without paying the fee needed to use one of the stalls inside.

A young woman had set up a long folding table covered with a large assortment of electronics and musical instruments and other musical paraphernalia.

Looking at the selection just out of curiosity since I knew I had nowhere near enough money for me to buy anything there even if I was interested. My eyes roamed over the various pieces displayed, pausing when they came to rest on a beautiful laptop.

I looked at it longingly, thinking of the thing at home that laughingly called itself a computer. Sighing I turned away from the table, and I hadn't taken two steps when I heard the woman who owned it told me to wait.

Turning back I looked at her curiously.

"I saw you looking at the laptop," she said smiling. "I can give you an excellent deal."

I just shook my head. "Sorry, but I don't have anywhere near enough to afford that," I said with a wistful smile on my face.

Her smile grew bigger as I said that. "Well, then this is your lucky day. Just give me your best offer, and it's yours."

"I only have twenty bucks on me," I told her.

"Sold!" she said brightly snatching up the laptop and shoving it into my hands.

I grabbed it by instinct not wanting to drop it when she let go. I looked at it somewhat dubiously, and I couldn't help but think that at the price she was giving it to me for I thought it should be burning my fingers.

Upon seeing my look, she laughed and said "No it's not stolen. I paid for everything here, and I even have receipts if you want to see."

At my skeptical look, she just sighed and said "Look I know it looks weird but all this stuff here I bought for my fiance while we were together. I found out two weeks ago he had been cheating on me, so I kicked his ass out. He hasn't been back for his stuff, and I am getting sick of it taking up space plus I also get the pleasure of getting a bit of revenge out of selling all the stuff he loved."

Looking back down at the laptop clutched in my hands, I thought about what she had said and felt my resistance to practically taking it start to fade. The guy had cheated on her after all, and I viewed cheaters as little better than how I saw bullies.

With that thought in mind, I smiled at her and said "In that case you've got a deal."

"Great!" she exclaimed smiling brightly. She then picked up the carrying case that had been beside it and placed it on top of the laptop. She hesitated a moment and then her smile grew even wider if that were possible.

She reached back to the table she picked up another smaller carrying case and plopped it down in my arms as well.

"What's this?" I asked slightly surprised.

"That," she said " Is all the software disks and flash drives he has. The drives are filled with all kinds of programs and such. Now go on and get out of here I see another potential customer as well as another chance to twist the knife." The last was said with a somewhat evil grin shooing me away.

Walking away I was bemused at the strange turn of events; I thought to myself that maybe the universe was finally sending a little good luck my way for a change.

After I had gotten home, I had immediately gone to my room to check out my unexpected landfall. As it turned out the guy, who had owned this before my have been cheating scum, but he sure knew his stuff when it came to computers as well as programming.

This brought me back to the problem of the safest way for me to find a suitable location for my bugs. I spent the next several days searching various city websites for information on abandoned sites. It took me several days to narrow down a small list that met my criteria. The next thing was to get blueprints for them. Usually, if someone wanted to get blueprints you would have to visit the proper offices, and if they were available to the public, you then had to pay a fee.

I couldn't afford to leave a trail even if they would sell them to a teenager. No, what I had to do was where the somewhat illegal activities came in. I had to hack the computers that held them.

I had always been good with computers, and after I had been introduced to programming, I couldn't get enough of them. The main roadblock I had to get into the subject was our ancient desktop, though I had learned as much as I could through books and in my computer class.

The laptop I had now was high-end and once I had gone through all several of the dozens of flash drives I had found several programs that who help me secure the blueprints I needed.

I was nervous as I began my cyber intrusion but as it turns out it was somewhat anti-climatic.

The programs I was able to use as well as my knowledge of programming made it almost disturbingly easy.

It turns out that only three met my criteria. The next week was spent cautiously scoping out the locations. The first had been an immediate bust as the building had been burned down just days ago apparently and the second had collapsed during a fight between the Empire and the Merchants.

Which brings me back to the present and the hope I could feel rising in my chest as I looked at the reasonably intact building. Well, a few windows were missing some panes but other than that it was in surprisingly good shape.

Taking a moment to scan the area to make sure I hadn't missed anything or anyone I started forward. I was about halfway from the building I had been observing from and the factory when what looked like a shooting star flashed into existence and just as quickly vanished.

The thought to wish upon it briefly passed through my mind but was quickly dismissed. Wishing on a star had never changed anything.

The odd thought had just passed when there was a loud bang followed quickly by a second, then what sounded like a cannon going off exploded out of the building along with a good portion of the windows on the ground floor.

I stood frozen in shock for a moment, not quite able to believe what had just happened. My luck couldn't be this bad, could it? I mean the only place I had been able to find that I could use for my hideout and it gets destroyed before I could even move in.

The universe was laughing at me.

That was the only thing that made sense to me at the moment. I shook my head to dispell such thoughts when I realized that that loud of noise would probably bring unwanted attention.

Retreating the way I came I crouched down in the shadows of the building I had stopped beside earlier and made myself as comfortable as possible to wait and see who if anyone came to investigate.

While I was waiting to see if anyone showed up, I reached out into swarm to investigate the building and see how much damage had been done as well as find out what had caused all the ruckus.

The next half hour was spent exploring the factory. Surprisingly there was not as much damage as I had feared. The roof had a hole in it about the size of both of my fists, and the second floor was the same.

My bugs weren't able to get near the object yet as the area directly around it was still hot enough that they died before I could get a sense of what it was, though I was able to tell it had hit with a lot of force given the two-foot wide crater it had created.

After an hour had passed with no one showing up I was reasonably confident that it was safe to head in myself. Making my way towards an overgrown area of the fence I pulled out the large pair of wire cutters I had brought along just for this. I cut just enough of the links to be able to pull the fence apart and squeeze in, letting the cut pieces fall back into place.

As I made my way to the factory, it was now quite easy to gain entrance now that all the windows were broken. Avoiding the glass as I climbed through I stepped down, and I got my first view of the place with my own eyes. The main floor was almost entirely open except for several waist-high walls scattered about with bare I-beams being used to support the levels above.

I didn't waste any time making my way towards the area my swarm had marked out as where whatever had caused the damage to the factory lay. I already knew the shape and had an idea of the weight of the object as the heat had faded quickly over the last half-hour so my bugs had been able to examine it but I was eager to see it with my own eyes.

Taking out the flashlight I had brought with me I played the beam over the crater. It was about two feet wide and about eight inches deep and laying in the center of it was a pitch black sphere. It was about an inch in diameter.

I bent forward shining the light directly down on its polished looking surface. Knowing that it was no longer hot, I reached down and lifted it out of the crater; I was surprised by its weight, given its size, figuring that it had to be able a quarter of a pound.

The sphere was cool to the touch which was unexpected given that not more than an hour ago it had punched through the building like it was made of cardboard after falling from what was likely at least extremely high altitude or low earth orbit.

It was entirely smooth, and to my fingers it felt almost crystalline, meaning it had to be incredibly dense, considering its spectacular entrance and the subsequent creation of the crater.

I was drawn from my study of the sphere by the soft beeps of my digital watch signaling the time change. Realizing I had been staring at it for some time I shook my head and quickly stuffed it into the front pocket of my jeans and made my way to the door in the corner of the far wall of the factory.

Opening the door, I aimed my flashlight into the dark stairwell as I quickly began my descent. What made this one so special was that it had a sub-basement doubling the amount of room I would have available to me, unlike the other two locations. Reaching the sub-level door and pulled on it, with some reluctance it finally opened releasing a gust of somewhat stale air.

As I played the beam of my flashlight around, I wasn't able to see much as the light from it faded after about twenty feet revealing nothing except empty cement floors. Moving the light about I run it along the walls until I noticed a fuse box not far from the door.

I looked it over and saw that it was still in good shape and more out of a fit of whimsy than the thought that anything would happen I reached up and pushed the main power switch on the box up to the on position.

To my eternal shock, a moment after I threw the switch the overhead lights built into the ceiling flickered to life. That I was stunned at this turn of good fortune was an understatement.

This changed things a great deal. The plans I had to procure a generator were for the moment put on the back burner now that I no longer had an immediate need for it.

With the money I would save from not having to buy it I could put it towards other supplies I desperately needed. I pulled myself out of thoughts of the future and went to check out my soon to be hideout.

I spent a few minutes walking the empty room and as the floor plans had shown it was four hundred square feet with a ceiling of about fifteen feet held up by cement columns. I was quite pleased. I then made my way to the second door and down the stairs to the sub-level.

The sub-level was much like the floor above once I had found the fuse box for this level. Looking around, I decided that this would be the perfect place to set up my black widows as well as habitats for the rest of my swarm.I smiled to myself I made my way back up to the main floor as I have my swarm search the building for anything big enough to prop open the doors between there and my soon to be headquarters.

While I was doing this, I separated out all the black widows I had collected over the weeks since I had started my plan as well as the few I had found on my way here and directed them all to the second level to start building their webs. My power was overriding the spider's solitary nature as well as their cannibalistic tendencies.

Now that I had checked the place out and had spiders constructing their homes I was done for the night and could head home. I turned off the power and made my way back up to the first floor shutting off the power in the basement and shutting both doors as well.

The trip home was uneventful though I couldn't help the broad smile that was spread across my face as I was nearly bursting with happiness at the thought that I was finally on the way to being a hero.

Coming in the back door as quietly as I could, I shut it and made my way to the stairs and up them avoiding the ones that creaked.

Making it back to my room and closing the door I sighed in relief that I had gotten back without dad finding out that I had snuck out in the middle of the night. Taking off my shirt and jeans after kicking my shoes off, I tossed them towards the open laundry basket missing horribly.

When my jeans hit the floor to the far left of the basket I heard a muffled thump. Curious I went over and picked up jeans and felt something hard in the pocket. That was when I remember the black sphere that had crashed through the roof of her new hideout.

In my haze of happiness at finding the perfect place, I had forgotten entirely about it. Though how I had was beyond me.

Looking at it again in better lighting I could see it was indeed completely smooth without a blemish on it, like a giant black pearl.

Placing it on my nightstand, I continued getting undressed I pulled the body stocking off and hung it in the back of my closet where it wouldn't be found.

As I was doing this, I thought about where the little crystal-like sphere could have come from. The thought it could have been part of a meteorite was briefly considered but discarded merely because it was entirely round and to my knowledge crystals didn't form in that shape.

Well thought it was a crystal at least. When I held it, that's what it felt like so unless some alien had encased it in rock and shot it into space for it to end up here I had to look elsewhere for the answer.

I giggled to myself at the thought that the little sphere on my nightstand could be alien amusing.

"Like something like that would ever happen," I said quietly. Finished getting undressed I got into bed still thinking about its origins.

The obvious choice was that it was tinker-tech or at least part of something tinker-tech. That brought up the worrying thought that the tinker in question could somehow track it and therefore me.

I almost got up and got rid of it right then and there. Two things stopped me from doing it. One was that if he or she, I thought to myself, did track it here I could just claim to have found it which was true.

The second reason was I was just plain exhausted, and I had to get up in only a few hours to jog, so with that in mind, I set my alarm for six am and turned the lights out.

It wasn't until I was just about asleep that the fact that the crystal, as I was going to think of it as, could have been radioactive or be emitting some other exotic energy since a tinker was involved and I had picked it up with her bare hands.

With a sigh filled with self-recrimination, I punched the pillow into shape, more to vent than the need to get comfortable and tried to get to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Pain!

My mind and senses were scrambled, my thoughts reduced to an animalistic need to flee the source of the pain.

On the floor, my form quivered in agony, I blindly lashed about seeking any means of escape.

There! A hole in the floor! I surge forward pushing myself through as fast as possible. Crashing to the floor below I force my myself forward blindly, though thankfully the pain was starting to lessen. I was in luck as I brush against a wall, touch the only sense still available to me.

Feeling my way along the wall for what seems an eternity in my painfilled flight. I finally find an opening in the wall.

A window!

I waste no time in throwing myself through the window and flow down the side of the building. Sight and sound return as I merge with the shadows at the base of the building. I pause to take stock of my situation now that I was able to sense the world around me once more.

After resting briefly, I felt ready enough to scan the area immediately around me. I was dismayed to find only a small rabbit hiding under some bushes a few feet from my spot.

I hated dealing with lower lifeforms as their instincts started to bleed into my own if I occupied it for too long. After a brief hesitation, I surged forward towards the small creature. It did not even have time to react before I was upon it and seconds later I had taken control of its body.

Something was wrong, very, very wrong. It had taken far too much effort to take control of this small creature. Apparently, the attack from the Betrayer had inflicted more damage upon me than I had first suspected. Fury and loss roared into my mind at even the thought of him. Why did he reject me as he had, why had he...

I bring that train of thought to a halt. Even now I still had trouble reconciling my past actions after my mental instability had been removed. My anger and hurt over the past was a distraction I could not afford in my weakened state.

Bringing my thoughts back under control, I warily poke my head from under the bushes and make my way along the side of the building staying in the shadows as much as I could. Reaching the corner of the building I paused, listening for any sign of danger.

Seeing nothing in the way of anything dangerous to my current form I slowly move out of the shadows of the building and start to cross the large section of grass that marked the border of the property. My target, the alley directly across the street.

I had gone no more than ten feet towards my goal when my body froze, a sound I truly did not want to hear reaching my now sensitive ears, the sound of a low, menacing growl.

Turning my head slowly I looked behind me and was greeted by a very unwelcome sight. There, no more than twenty feet from me was a huge dog. Fur filthy and matted, its ribs plainly visible, its stance rigid nearly vibrating in place, it stared at me with hunger plain in its eyes.

Groaning to myself, an odd sound when made by a rabbit, I bolted towards the ally and the safety beyond the chain link fence that crossed the far end.

The chase was on. The mongrel raced after my small form the moment I started my mad dash for the dubious safety of the ally and whatever lay beyond it. I reached the street quickly and began to race across when a large car came roaring around the corner barely missing me and making the mutt pull up short giving me some much-needed space.

Reaching the far side, I risked a glance back and saw my pursuer far closer than I was comfortable with it being. Turning my head back to the alley I put on every bit of speed I could wring from this small form. Entering the narrow confines of the alley moving as fast as my paws would take me. I had made it nearly halfway down the alley when the fur on my borrowed body started to stand on end.

Surprised as I was at the sensation, I slowed my headlong flight. I glanced back once again to see how close my fanged menacer was. To my surprise, I saw the mangy creature come to a screeching halt at the entrance of the alley, give a small whimper, then turn tail and run as if its tail had been lit on fire.

"That can't be good." I had time to think to myself before a bright flash of light exploded behind me. Turning back I saw something even less welcome than the dog.

There hovering in the middle of the ally was a small hole in the reality wreathed by crackling purple and green lightning.

"Definitely not good!" I think as I turn and start to run back the way I came. I was nearing the exit when I felt something start pulling me back towards the hole in the air. Scrambling madly I tried to find purchase on the concrete of the alley, but the paws of the rabbit were not made for such hard surfaces.

Knowing I only had moments before I was pulled into the unknown, I released my hold on the rabbit. Multiple limbs shot out, grabbing at any solid anchor to pull me forward.

This, as it turns out, was a mistake. As soon as I was free from the rabbit's body, the pull on my form grew exponentially.

I was ripped from my anchors and sent hurtling towards what I was sure to be my death.

Before I reached the opening, I curled in on myself compacting myself down until I was the size of a basketball to make sure I did not strike the edges. Who knew what THAT would do to me.

Reaching the opening, I prepared myself as best as one can when facing the unknown. It wasn't like I hadn't been in situations just as strange.

Four things claimed my attention after passing through the opening.

Intense pressure was the first thing I noticed.

The second was the, now obvious portal, snapping shut as soon as I was on the other side.

The third thing was the intense cold.

The fourth, and to me the far the most important, was the giant blue sphere directly in front of me. Staring at the bright blue orb, only one thought ran through my mind.

"Murphy is just laughing his ass off at me right now."

I had learned a great many things in my time on earth. The concept of Murphys Law was one of them. I had always thought it to be nothing more than another idiosyncratic euphemism that humans had invented to explain the chaos that is inherent in the universe.

I know now Murphy was real and he was a giant phallic shaped individual. He also apparently had it out for me if my situation was anything to go by.

I pulled out of my thoughts on the possible existence of a malevolent higher being trying to kill me and back to the task at hand. I knew I had to think quickly as at the speed I was traveling I would soon join the earth's biosphere as ash.

Sadly I had few options, with none of them having a high percentage chance of my continued survival. After some frantic mental gymnastics, I determined my best chance of surviving reentry.

Pulling tighter on myself I began to shrink. Changing slowly from a sphere the size of a basketball to one no bigger than a marble. My form becoming denser the more I compacted myself, the outer layer of my body now harder than diamond from the amount of compacting. The pain while intense was bearable. My form was not meant to be constrained so tightly.

Having never done this before I became aware of other disadvantages of compacting this small.

I lost almost all contact with the outside world. A faint sense of movement was all that was left to me. My thoughts were sluggish as well. All in all, I would have to rate this experience as a negative five on a scale of one to ten.

The wait was the hardest part. While I knew it would be a scant few moments, time seemed to crawl by at a snail's pace. Then suddenly the heat began to build up, quickly increasing to nearly unbearable levels.

After what felt like an eternity the heat of reentry began to fade and with it's passing the struggle to keep this level of compression eased. But I knew the final stage was almost as dangerous a threat that burning up coming into the atmosphere could be.

While my form as it was now was harder than diamond falling from orbit might be enough to shatter me and spread pieces of me over a large area.

While this would not kill me per se, it would, however, take me an indeterminate amount of time to reassemble myself and even then until enough of my form had reintegrated, the pieces had no thought, just mindlessly moving about.

Needless to say, I was very much against this happening. The loss of self is disorienting in the extreme, and there was also some little bit of self lost in the process.

Banishing such worries to the back of my mind, I once more pushed with as much force as I could, reinforcing my outer shell as I continued my free fall to the earth far below.

The first impact comes as a shock. It was followed by a second then a third in rapid succession. Then with what feels like a titans fist slamming into me, the faint sensation of falling came to an abrupt and painful end.

Struggling to retain consciousness I use the last of my energy to breach my outer shell to see where I had landed. What I saw, while not ideal, would do. I was in what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. Judging from the poor condition and the layers of dust coating the area no one had been here in a long time.

Now that I knew I would undisturbed while I recovered I drew back within my shell leaving a nearly microscopic pinhole to be able to monitor my surroundings. As I allowed conciseness begin to fade a strange noise intruded. I couldn't quite place it as exhaustion began to claim me.

The last threads of thought were fading when I placed the sound. The final thought that crossed my mind before unconsciousness overcame me was a questioning one.

"Bugs?"

Discomfort pulled me from the dark embrace of unconsciousness. My thoughts were sluggish at first. Then clarity came like a hammer blow bringing painful awareness. The fight, fleeing pain, fleeing AGAIN, the portal and my unexpected trip through space and the monstrous impact then nothing until this moment.

Sighing to myself I pushed the memories away and began to take stock of my situation. Other than being uncomfortable in this state I seemed to be intact as was the outer shell I had formed.

"Well, at least something went right after all of this." I thought. "Now to find out where I am."

Extruding a microscopic tendril from the opening I had left before falling unconscious I peered out to the world outside.

The first thing I noticed was that I had been attached to what appeared to be a small loop and chain. If I had eyebrows, I would have been doing a good imitation of Mr. Spock.

I honestly wasn't sure whether to be offended or flattered. Annoyed that someone HAD made me into a necklace or flattered that someone thought my form, as it was, was pretty enough to make an ornament out of me.

Pushing aside such thoughts I continued my examination of my surroundings. I was on a large flat surface covered in what appeared to be pieces of silk cloth and what looked like bits of brown and black armor.

My exploration was cut short by a loud curse. Shifting my gaze towards the sound, I was treated to the unexpected sight of a young teenage girl in a black and gray bodysuit with bits of armor covering vulnerable spots.

She was thin and little gangly and above average height if I was estimating her age correctly. She had long curly black hair, which was plastered to her forehead at the moment.

As I watched she set herself in what I recognized as a martial arts stance. She slowly started moving, each movement precise and controlled. After a few moments of observation, I recognized the kata. She was practicing Aikido.

While interesting what drew my attention was the large number of bugs that started to buzz about her in patterns that were not natural.

"Unbelievable," I thought. "After all that I had gone through in the last day and however long I was out, the person that finds me not only makes a necklace out of me of all things, they also turn out to be a superhuman!"

My internal rant was cut off when I looked past the costumed girl and saw the far end of the room. My mind froze up, and one thought played over and over in my mind.

"The universe is laughing at me."

It was the only thing that made sense. After all, it was the only thing that would explain what I was seeing. There at the far end of the room was an absolutely enormous collection of spider webs filled with thousands of spiders.

I had to laugh to myself. Honestly what were the odds that I would flee successfully from on spider-themed hero and go for the ride of my life in the process, then get found immediately after by ANOTHER spider-themed superhuman?

I pause at this, my rampaging thoughts stilled at the idea that she might not be a hero. Looking at the girl again I actually took my time to study the costume.

The color scheme was mostly grey and black with bits of brown added in from the armored sections. Wondering if she went unmasked or not, I cast about and further down the from where I lay I saw a mostly complete helmet.

I had to say from what I could see so far it didn't look very personable. It had orange insectile eyes and below that was a vicious set of mandibles. The overall color was the dull brown of the armored pieces I had seen on her costume.

Still, she could just be what was considered an "edgier" sort of hero or at worst like the Punisher, as Pet...someone used to say "You can't judge a book by its cover." I would have to watch for now and decide what to do after observing how she acted.

Plans firmly in place I decided to get some more rest. After everything, I had been through and now this I was more than ready to call it a day even if I had only just woken up. You could only take so many surprises in one day.

As I drifted off into a more restful sleep I could have sworn I heard faint laughter.

When I woke again, I was in a different room. It was a bedroom by the looks of it. Glancing around, it appeared relatively normal. Not that I expected to see anything sinister to be laying about, but you never knew. Seeing nothing of interest, I turned my attention to the desk I was laying on.

Spotting some books laying there I took a chance while I was alone to lengthen the tendril I was using to look out and looked at the cover of the top text. It was a history book, and in poor shape, I couldn't help but notice.

Flipping the open cover, I saw from the stamp on the inside cover it belonged to a Winslow High School. Idly turning the pages, I scanned them trying to ascertain if I was still on MY earth. This wasn't my first rodeo after all and after going through that portal as well as performing the ultimate high altitude skydive, who knew where I was even if it seemed to be earth.

After several minutes of scanning them, I began to get what would be a sinking feeling in my stomach if I had one. The casual turning of the pages becoming quicker, I found myself reading the pages as fast as I could turn them.

The sinking feeling I had had when I started had solidified into cold certainty. If what I had read was correct I was DEFINITELY no longer on the earth I knew.

Pulling my tendril back until it barely protruded I began to think. The fact that I was on another earth was dealt with fairly quickly considering the situations my former hosts had gotten into. No, what was foremost in my mind where what was referred to as the Endbringers.

The way they were described painted a grim picture of this world, and I had no idea what could be done about them. For that matter, I didn't even know if anything COULD be done about them. More information was needed before plans could be worked out.

A few minutes after I had finished reading the same girl I hade seen from before came in the room, once again sweaty as well as being a bit red in the face. She was also breathing a bit heavily and with the way she was dressed I assumed she must have been out running.

She quickly shed her clothes and clad in only her underwear she picked out another set of clothes and left the room. A few moments later I could hear water start running indicating she was taking a shower.

Turning back to my earlier thoughts I knew that to get more information I would have to either reveal myself to her or if she proved unsuitable find someone else to bond with.

I would have to decide shortly as I was weakening and would soon have no choice as to who I chose. With those thoughts in mind I settled myself back to watch and learn all I could about this strange new world I found myself a part of.

"Unbelievable! " I thought to myself. If I had any doubts that Taylor, as I had found out the girl was named, was a villain, a day spent hanging from her neck observing her had dispelled them completely.

How she had not snapped and swarmed the whole school with insects was a miracle in and of itself. From what I had seen on the way to the school and when I was in her hideout I knew she could control a large number of insects. The fact that she had not used them on those three girls, in particular, should be viewed as a reason to grant her sainthood.

I was beside myself with outrage at the way the entire school had acted in regards to her treatment. I knew now from the way she had stayed her hand at school when she could have easily killed everyone that she would be the one I bonded with. Well assuming she wanted to bond.

That was the one thing worrying me the most. I would have to choose the right time and approach to increase the chances Taylor would agree to do so. I knew from the last day she had a great deal of inner strength and from the quiet words she muttered to herself she wanted to be a hero

That was one route I could use to get her to agree to the bond, but I wanted more than that. I wanted her to want to bond because she liked me as well. Sighing to myself yet again I added this to the growing pile of things I had to do, though this, of course, had a higher priority assigned to it.

I watched as she made her way home from the bus stop covered in some type of sticky liquid the three most prominent of her bullies had poured over her when she was in a bathroom stall. Squishing with every step, she made her way to her house and up to her room where she pulled off her wet clothes and made her way to the bathroom.

Apparently, she was deep in thought as she forgot to take the chain holding me off. That was when I got yet another nasty surprise. Now that she was undressed I could see little scars marking her arms and legs as well as her torso.

It made ill to think of what could have done that to her. When she had finished, she made her way back to her room and pulled out the body stocking I had seen her wear when not in the full costume she had created.

Pulling it on she then quickly dressed in a baggy grey hoodie and ragged jeans. I made a mental note to myself as I looked at what she had put on as well as her closet, that when we bonded I would have to get her to go clothes shopping, as her tastes in clothing were less than fashionable.

Finished dressing Taylor went to one knee and fished under the bed for a moment before standing back up pulling a silk balaclava out and pulling over her head to rest around her neck.

Making her way back down the stairs and out the front door then closing and locking it she then made her way down the steps skipping the step that was second from the bottom.

From the expression on her face and her determined stride, I had a good idea we were on our way to her hideout. When we neared the area where it was located, her determined stride changed to a wary gait.

Following a few twists and turns down mostly empty streets and a few alleyways we were only a few blocks from our destination when she tensed and uttered a quiet profanity.

Seeing nothing ahead of us, I could only think that she had noticed something with her powers. Extending a probe farther I was able to look behind her and saw four Asian looking youths following behind her. She turned into the next alleyway and started to make her way down it quickly.

Stopping abruptly Taylor cursed again and began to cast her eyes about the alley looking for something. Swearing for the third time she reached down and pulled the balaclava up over her face before pulling the hood of her hoodie up.

As she did this, she pulled something from her back pocket with her other hand then held it close to her leg. A moment later four young men sauntered into the entrance of the alley ahead of us. Now I knew why she cursed since it looked like we were trapped between the two groups. I could hear a low hum fill the air just below human hearing and knew that even if the odds looked to be in their favor when powers were involved nothing was ever certain.

Standing very still Taylor waited for them to get closer to before speaking. "I don't want any trouble, I was just taking a walk."

"Well then I guess since you just taking a walk, you just have to pay a toll for going through our territory." the tallest of the group in front of us said in badly broken english.

"I don't have any money. Just let me go." Taylor replied calmly, though I could detect an increase in the humming coming from had to be the swarm she had massing on the roofs above.

"Well then we got a problem then." he said, "See if you don't got no money we got to take someth'n else." A sly grin began to form on his face at the last. The rest started laughing and making lewd gestures.

"You don't want to do that. Just let me go." she said as calmly as she had the last time.

"Not gonna happen little girl. You crossed our turf, so you gotta pay, one way or 'nother." he said, the grin on his face turning ugly. "Since you don't got the money to pay, we'll just take a little taste of what you got to offer, and if you're real good we let you go."

Those words seemed to be the signal for the action to start. Two of the thugs from the group behind us rushed forward to grab her arms. Before they had made it more than a few steps, her hand snapped down and with a snap and a foot and a half long defense baton appeared in her hand.

Spinning she lashed out with the baton striking the one to her left across the face with a sickening crack, he fell to the ground with the boneless grace of the unconscious. On her backswing she brought it back quickly enough to do the same to the second of the pair, dropping him as well. This caused the two that were behind her that about to join the fray to hesitate for a moment before continuing with greater care now that she had shown that she could defend herself.

That hesitation was not lost on Taylor as she used it to her full advantage. Charging the two she ducked a clumsy swing from the one on the left and brought the baton across the inside of his knee. Like before there was an audible cracking noise and a loud scream as the thug went down. Before she could finish him arms wrapped around her from behind and lifted her off her feet.

Without hesitation she slammed her head back connecting with his nose, smashing it in a spray of blood. Screaming profanities he let her go of her and grabbed his nose in pain. Wasting no time she spun around and brought the baton down across his head sending him to dreamland along with his friends.

She was just turning back towards the other four when there was a deafening roar and Taylor was thrown forward sprawling on the pavement making pained gasping noises. I heard laughter from behind us but couldn't see anything since she was face down on the ground trapping me against her and the ground as well as blocking my sight.

"Not so tough with a bullet in ya huh, are ya you little bitch!" the leader of the group yelled. I could hear them making their way towards us laughing all the while.

I was almost ready to bond with Taylor then to save her even if it meant doing it against her will but I could hear her pained breathing calming down and evening out and knew she was not out of it yet. It was about that time that the dull hum that had been a constant since she entered the alley in the background explode into a cacophony of buzzing and chittering bugs as poured over the edges of the buildings and raining down upon the surprised thugs.

While they were occupied trying to get away from the deluge of insects, Taylor managed to climb to her feet and turn towards the flailing and screaming group. It was about then I realized the universe was out to get the BOTH of us. She had only made it one step towards the engulfed thugs when shots started to ring out from the swarm. With a pained cry, she was spun about and landed heavily on the ground, this time fortunately on her back.

I saw the leader of the group stumble out of the cloud of insects looking much the worse for wear. With bites covering his arms and hands, his face was swelling from dozens of stings. He stumbled towards us with hatred plainly written on his face. He had almost reached us when he started to raise his gun and aim it at Taylor's head when I knew my time was up.

Hoping she would forgive me I made my choice.

Taylor

Pain was the only thing I knew when awareness wormed its way into my mind. I hurt everywhere, every breath was torture, my thoughts were scattered to the wind. I tried to make sense of it all, and with agonizing slowness, I began to piece together what had happened.

I remembered being drenched by the trio yet again and had left school to go home and change not being able to handle another moment at school. I knew I got home and changed. Then leaving the house and heading to my hideout.

The walk had been uneventful until I had passed a group of ABB members hanging out in front of an apartment complex. I had walked past them getting a few looks but nothing else. I had thought I had been in luck until my swarm informed me that they had started to follow me.

I had tensed for a moment uttering a profanity that I'm sure my dad didn't know I knew and seeing an alley just ahead decided to turn into it to either try to lose them or set an ambush.

My paranoia was not unfounded as I heard through my swarm one of the guys trailing me use a phone to call someone and cursed a moment later as four more gang members exited the building ahead of me cutting me off and trapping me between the two groups.

Cursing yet again this time using one I know dad was unaware that I knew and slowly reached into the pocket of my hoodie and withdrew the defense baton I had in there.

I held it close to my leg. Hopefully, it would not be noticed.

I had tried to talk the leader into letting me go and when that failed I had been able to take out the two that rushed me first then the other two without much trouble thanks to my swarm telling when they were about to move.

I had started to turn when there was what sounded like an explosion behind me and the sensation of what felt like a giant hand hit me in the back knocking me to the ground. I laid there for what felt like hours but could have only been moments before air finally found its way back into my lungs. Still gasping I managed to get to my feet and turn towards the bastard that had just shot me.

I had only made it a few steps before the world went away again as another shot rang out from the mass of writhing gang members. Pain exploded in my head as I was thrown to the ground once more.

The awareness that I had been shot yet again crystallized in my mind and with one harsh realization, I was about to die. Not in a blaze of glory fighting off insurmountable odds leaving a legacy of heroics behind.

No, I was going to die here in some filthy alley by some no-name gangbanger before I even started my career. I heard footsteps approach, and the one who had spoken to me was standing over me with his gun raising up to point at me.

I tried to move, but my arms and legs refused to obey me. My head was still ringing as I closed my eyes preparing myself for the bullet that was going to end my life.

Strangely enough, the only thought that went through my head was "Boy he looked like shit."

I tried to flinch when I heard a loud crack, expecting to feel the pain of bullet cracking my skull open, I felt instead a warm sensation enter my chest spreading outwards to all my extremities. The feeling faded quickly to be replaced with what felt like quicksilver flowing over my body soon covering me completely.

When whatever it was that was happening to me was done, I felt my body move without any input from myself. I was like a marionette as my body twisted and kicked off the ground and then snapped back down hard. To my surprise this had the effect of pulling my entire body upright as if I had been pulled up on a string.

My hand snapped out grabbing the gabgbangers wrist and with a simple-seeming twist broke it, causing him to drop the gun in the process. His eyes were just changing from surprise to that of pain when my other hand sent him to the ground with a backhand and then into unconsciousness.

My world then took another turn for the weird when the same hand that had knocked him out pointed at him and a thick grey substance shot out of the back of my hand and hitting his supine body and expanding to cover him from head to toe. When it was done it looked like he had been wrapped in a giant spiders webs.

My head raised and I could see that my swarm was still following the last orders that I gave it before I was shot. My mind still having trouble coming to terms with that fact. I could barely make out the three forms of the gangbangers with the swarm in the way.

Once again my arms moved without consent and pointed towards the end of the alley. Thick ropes of the same substance from before shot from my hands and struck the three motionless forms and then my arms began dragging them from the mass of insects and down the alley towards me. Thankfully the swarm seemed content to stay where it was and not follow them as they were pulled towards me.

I winced internally as one of them was drug face down along the rough surface of the alley and deposited next to the leader of the group. They had just received their own helping of the web-like substance when I heard sirens approaching.

Like before my body acted of its own accord and turned and ran for the wall of the alley. When I was about eight feet from it, my body leaped into the air impacting at what had to be at least thirty feet up. Instead of falling like I would have expected I just stuck to it like one of my bugs then scaled the rest of the building as if I were out for a stroll on level ground.

Reaching the top I find myself running along the edge towards the front of the building. When I got near the edge, instead of stopping, to my horror my body sped up. If I could have screamed I would have, as my body jumped.

To my shock, I sailed over the street and landed easily on the other side. I then watched as my body made impossible leap after impossible leap and soon grew numb to the bizarre turn of events this day was bringing. After a while, I noticed the route my body was following and realized I was headed towards my hideout.

I watched from the passenger seat of my mind as my body entered the factory and down into what I had begun to call my home away from home. Walking over to the ratty recliner I had been able to get in here with a great deal of effort, my body sat down and leaned back in the chair. The moment my body settled into the cushions I felt control of my body return to me.

Instead of leaping to my feet I just sat there and stared at my hands while trying to understand what had just happened. I looked at the black material covering them, turning my hands over and looking at the back of them trying to find where the "webbing" for want of a better word, had come from. Even bringing my hand up as closely as possible I couldn't detect any point where it could have emerged.

I know I should be freaking out right about now but to be honest, my brain felt kind of numb after what had happened in the alley.

Putting my hand down after looking for where the webbing had come from in vain. I tried to clear my mind and look at this logically.

I had been hurt and in mortal danger that much was certain. Was it possible that this was a new aspect of my power that I had never suspected before? Only now being able to access these abilities when my life was in danger or was it something else?

"It's not anything you could imagine Taylor, it is much, much stranger."

A thrill of fear and terror coursed through my body at those words, not because of the words themselves but for the fact that they had been spoken directly into my mind.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Sorry this has been so long in coming. Real life, as well as a fickle Muse wanting to work on other stories, kept this from coming out. I have edited this as much as I think I can and as I just want to et this out I will let you point out all the many errors I am sure to have missed. Hope you enjoy it.

Venomous Sting CH. 3

Taylor

My heart beat frantically in my chest as fear flooded my body causing my head to start throbbing painfully. A headache that had been skulking in the background made its presence known.

It was a proven fact that telepathy was impossible for humans to develop such abilities. In fact, the only being known to have exhibited anything close was the Simurgh, and the fact that someone had just spoken directly into my mind left me with one terrifying conclusion.

" _Oh for heaven's sake Taylor I am not the Simurgh!_ " the feminine voice exclaimed into my mind once more, a feeling of exasperation accompanying her words " _I would hardly have saved you if I was her don't you think?_ "

My fear didn't lessen one iota as even if it wasn't the Simurgh speaking to me, which I didn't really believe for a minute, there was still someone currently inside my head.

" _I know you're scared, but I really don't mean you any harm,_ " she continued gently, a feeling of comfort accompanying it now. " _In fact, I can help you if you let me_."

My fear had begun to fade slightly at the words and feeling of comfort I felt, then it rose to new heights as the last of what she said registered, Faustian deals playing a prominent role in the thoughts running through my head.

Silvery laughter echoed in my mind before the voice spoke again. " _I'm not some sort of demon after your soul either,_ " she said amusement clearly coloring her words.

"What or who are you then?" I managed to get out despite still being deathly afraid.

I felt her sigh as she started to speak again. " _That is a long and complicated story I'm afraid. To make matters short and for the lack of a better place to start, I was your necklace._ "

"You mean the crystal I found?" I said my thoughts beginning to pick up speed now that I had something to focus on besides the pain in my head and the fact that someone, still possibly the Simurgh, as it would be just like the Endbringer to use mind games like this, was speaking into my mind.

" _Yes_ ," she responded, " _and for the last time I'm not her._ " the exasperation was back if only slightly, most of what I could feel was still amusement.

My mind finally started to function once more as my fear began to recede if only slightly. "Then you're what, a tinker device or something?" I asked, seeing no reason not to satisfy my curiosity since who or whatever it was, was in my head and as I couldn't get away from them and they weren't trying to kill me, at least not yet.

" _That would be "or someone" sweetie. What you thought was a crystal was actually a small portion of my body that I hardened to protect my core self from entry into your atmosphere as well as my rather...spectacular landing. The majority of my form I had to compress inside of it, being as I am rather amorphous in my natural state._ " she replied calmly, though I thought I detected a hint of rye humor when she mentioned her landing.

Even as I registered that, my mind latched onto a specific word, "entry" not "re-entry." My mind vapor-locked for a moment as the implications sunk in. If what my poor abused brain was trying to tell me with was right, I was not only talking to an alien lifeform but said life form was now encasing my body and could apparently take it over at will.

As my brain began to come up with scenarios each one worse than the last, her voice broke into my thoughts again as panic threatened to overwhelm me.

" _Taylor I swear to you I meant what I said, if you let me I can help you, but if you don't want me to, I'll leave and never bother you again,_ " she said, feelings of sincerity washing over me. Though I could have sworn I also felt a flash of fear when she mentioned leaving me.

"You mean you'd leave if I asked you to? Just like that?" I said wincing internally at the quaver in my voice.

" _Of course, my species are what you would call symbiotes we exist in harmony with our hosts. I wouldn't force you to do anything against your will,_ " she said quietly.

Raising my arm to study it, her I guess I should say, if what she was telling me was true. I looked at the subst...symbiote covering my limb with interest even though my fear had only faded slightly at her words. "So this is your body?" I asked as I felt my arm, surprised that I had tactical sensation through her...skin?

" _The...majority of it, yes,_ " she said hesitantly.

And just like that my fear came roaring back even stronger than before. I asked, quite calmly if I do say so myself. "Where exactly is the rest?"

" _I need a neural connection to be able to communicate with you as well as to know what you need me to do,_ " she said quietly after a brief hesitation " _But I swear it won't hurt you, I would never do that, I would rather die than let that to happen._ "

I knew I should be freaking out right about now but I was simply too numb, and my head hurt too much by this point to put in the effort. I also knew I shouldn't trust someone I had just met. After the last year and a half my trust had been worn away to almost nothing, and if it were only her words I wouldn't have believed her at all, but I could also feel her sincerity along with them and knew she was telling the truth.

If I was honest with myself, after being alone for so long I just wanted someone who I could trust. With that thought, my fear seemed to drain away, and I suddenly felt tired beyond belief, as well as unbelievably sore with a splitting headache. After the day I had just experienced, all I wanted to do now was to crawl into my bed and sleep the sleep of the dead.

Unfortunately, that was not to be, as thoughts of my bed began to lure me to sleep, her voice rang in my head.

" _Taylor!_ " she said sharply, worry infusing her words. " _You have to stay awake. You have a concussion from being hit in the head. Luckily your mask saved you or we probably wouldn't be having this conversation._ "

Her words had the effect of a bucket of ice water begin thrown at me. The realization that I had almost died today finally hit me as I began to shake violently in the chair as the events of the past few hours played out in my mind's eye.

Feelings of tenderness and comfort washed over me as she said " _You'll be fine Taylor, I can have you patched up in no time. If you want me to that is, I really just want to help you._ "

The shaking started to subside as the words and feelings penetrated my mind. Her words begin the first kind ones I had heard directed towards me in almost two years other than my dad's. I started to ask her what she meant when an errant thought crossed my mind.

"I just realized I don't know your name," I said abruptly.

I felt amusement radiating from her again as she said: " _My kind don't really have names like you do, we generally take on the name of our host._ "

It may have been the concussion talking, but I felt that was rather sad and said as much. "That's so sad, that you don't have your own name, you should you know?"

Ok, strike that first bit, it was definitely the concussion talking, I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment at my outburst. Kira smiled, and how I could tell she was smiling when she was a voice in my head, my poor brain couldn't figure out and said " _If it truly bothers you, you may call me Kira. I've always liked that name._ "

I smiled as well as "Alright Kira," I said "what exactly do you mean by "fix me up"? Because right now I don't know how I could even begin to hide how hurt I am from my dad."

Kira was silent for a moment then she began to explain " _It would involve being bonded closer than we are right now. As it is we are just past the threshold of the level of bonding necessary for us to communicate this way._ "

"What would the bonding involve?" I asked, starting to feel somewhat like Alice falling down the rabbit hole. After almost dying in an alleyway, I was saved by an alien being that took control of my body, and now I'm sitting here discussing the possibility of actually bonding with said being.

" _The bonding process has several degrees to it. The most basic is a surface bond which allows for the most shallow of connections with the host, enough for their intent to be read and to respond to but little else._ " she began to explain.

" _Deepening the bond to the next level allows for the host to access the majority of our abilities, enhancing them physically and mentally as well as being able to communicate and share emotions with each other._ " she stopped then, and I felt anxiousness emanating from her before she continued.

" _When a full bonding is formed the host is able to access all of the abilities we can grant as well as making the mental and physical connections permanent._ " she finished quietly.

I sat there quietly, trying to wrap my mind around the fact that an honest to god alien was asking me to let them take up residence in my head as well as my body. To say I was unsure would be one of the understatements of the century.

"What do you get out of it?" I asked. I wanted to know why she was offering me this.

" _I would get to live,_ " she said softly. " _My kind cannot survive long without a host._ "

"You mean that if I decide I don't want to bond with you, you'll die?" I couldn't help the despair I felt at the thought of her death, even though I had been scared out of my mind of her just a short while ago. I didn't understand why I felt that way, but something inside me told me that I needed to trust her.

She was quite so long I thought she wasn't going to answer when she began to speak.

" _Normally, I could separate from you and find an animal to sustain me until I found a suitable host. The injuries I sustained from my arrival on your world, and what lead up to my being here means I would need to transfer to a strong human host to survive after the transfer,_ " she told me in a soft tone. Though they disappeared quickly, I could feel a mixture of fear and helplessness radiating from her.

"I don't know what to do," I told her honestly, fear of losing myself to the bonding, warring with the thoughts that I would never be alone again. "This...this is a big decision, life-changing even. I just met you, and then you saved my life, and I don't want anyone to die. But if I bond with you, I would be sharing my body and mind with someone I just met." starting to feel the panic rise up again.

" _I know you're scared because it is a big decision,_ " she said with a mixture of sympathy and comfort coming through our connection. " _I want you to understand that if you decide not to bond, I will leave and never bother you again._ "

If I had any doubts about bonding with Kira, they evaporated with those words, because I could feel the truth behind her words. I was amazed yet again how much easier it was to accept someone's word when you could feel the emotions behind them.

The fact that she would leave if I told her to regardless of the fact that it would most likely mean her death decided me. "How do we do this?" I asked. Surprise and gratitude, as well as joy, flood my mind at my immediate response.

" _Thank you, Taylor,_ " she replied solemnly, though I could still feel happiness seeping in around the edges. " _The process is quite simple really, but to be safe, I think we should do so at your house as you might feel the need to sleep after it's complete._ "

When she mentioned going home, I suddenly realized I had lost all track of time. Before I could begin to panic, with thoughts of my dad wondering where I was Kira interrupted my thoughts.

" _Don't worry about the time, we still have at least an hour before your father gets home,_ "

she said with gentle humor in her voice.

I sighed in relief knowing I had plenty of time to get home before dad. When I started to get up from the recliner though I was reminded somewhat rudely that I had been shot not so long ago as my back protested violently with moving of any kind and my head had to put in its two cents worth by trying to split in two.

I collapsed back into the recliner with a moan of pain. There was no way I was going anywhere for the moment. "How am I going to get home now if I can't even manage to get out of this chair?" I groaned while holding my head trying to keep it in one piece.

" _I can help you like I did in the alley,_ " Kira responded, thankfully in a soft tone, as I didn't think I could stand any loud noises at the moment.

After a few moments of just holding my head, the pain receded enough that I could speak without the threat of my brains spilling out.

"Let's do that then." I finally manage to get out. After all, I thought, if I'm going to be sharing my body I might as well get used to it. I got a feeling of sympathy from her, as I felt my body slowly start to stand up. The world began to tilt a bit as we move towards the door and if I had been in control it might have been a problem, but as it was, it was merely a bit irritating.

We had made it to the outer door of the factory before I realized that as I was now, I would be anything but inconspicuous on my way home. Even as I thought that I felt Kira start to change. The mask flowing off my head like water as the rest of her changed color to grey on top and blue on my legs then gaining definition as the black and white costume I had been wearing changed into a grey hoodie and blue jeans as well as a pair of white sneakers.

With just a bit of impish amusement in her voice at my surprise at the change, she said: " _I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve._ "

Pulling the spider-silk mask off and stuffing it into my coat pocket we made our way out the door and out onto the street, I couldn't help but think of all the things that had happened in such a short time. I had almost died to a bunch of gangbangers, then was saved from them by an alien symbiote who then offered to bond with me. A stray thought crossed my mind as I pondered the events of the day.

"Hey, Kira, how did you wind up in orbit, to begin with," I ask, curious as to how that happened. When she told me, it was a good thing she was in control of my body, as my brain had just reached its surprise quota for the day.

"Kira," I said in a weak voice " if I ever have the bright idea to ask you any more questions, please, for the sake of my sanity don't answer them."

Her only response was a peal of laughter echoing in my head as we slowly made our way home.

I had never been as happy to see my house than I was at that moment. Even with Kira doing all the work I still felt the pain radiating from my back and flaring up into white-hot agony with every step making the trip home seem three times as long.

Thankfully my dad's truck wasn't in the driveway. We made our way around the house and through the back door. Then slowly and painfully up the stairs and into my room.

I started to relax a bit when I realized I was in desperate need of a shower even though I had taken one only hours before. I would also need some help if I were going to get it.

"Can you help me take a shower?" I asked, feeling shy suddenly. Even though I knew in my head that she was already covering my body, the fact that she would now have to see me naked as well as help me wash had me feeling embarrassed.

" _It's no problem at all,_ " she said, warmth suffusing her voice. My "clothing" seemed to pull back into my body leaving me in the clothes I had been wearing when I left the house.

"That is going to be handy." I thought, imagining all the ways I could use just that ability alone. After getting out of the rest of my clothes and putting the bodysuit away, she guided my body to the bathroom and helped me quickly shower.

We had just finished getting dressed by the expedient route of her forming a new shirt and sweatpants for me to wear so I wouldn't have to bend over to put on new clothes when I heard a car door shut in the driveway, letting me know my dad was home.

Having looked in the mirror, I had no idea what I was going to tell him about the massive bruise on my temple spreading down my cheek and across my forehead.

Kira apparently knew what I was thinking. Before I had voiced my thoughts, I felt the same sensation as when she had saved me flowed over me. Before I knew it my face had been covered and after a second turned into a perfect replica of my face minus the bruises.

" _There that should do it._ " I heard her say, seeming way to chipper for my taste when I felt this bad. I had to admit though, even knowing she was mimicking my face to look natural, I couldn't tell that it wasn't my real face.

"Thanks, Kira, I don't want to even think about the discussion dad, and I would have if he saw my face the way it is right now," I said with relief. Now all I had to do was make it through dinner without him noticing anything was wrong before I could make my excuses and escape back to my bedroom.

With Kira doing the walking for me I made my way down the stairs to greet dad as he came in through the back door and kicked off his boots.

He gave me a tired smile when he noticed me in the doorway to the living room. "Hey Taylor, how was your day?" he asked me as he made his way to the refrigerator and grabbing a beer before slumping down in one of the kitchen chairs.

"Oh the usual, school was school then I came home, nothing too exciting," I said.

" _Unless you count almost dying and meeting a real live alien exciting._ " I couldn't help think to myself, but I wisely kept that to myself. I could feel Kira snickering in the background as that thought ran through my head.

Looking at him I could see he seemed a little more tired than usual. Making a sudden decision, I asked, "Why don't we order in tonight dad?" I said with a smile. "You look about as tired as I feel, that way neither of us has to cook."

"Your old man really look that bad, huh?" he said with a wry grin creeping onto his face.

At that, I laughed and said "Of course not, I just thought it would be nice to get a pizza and watch a movie for a change. We haven't done that in a while."

"Sounds good to me then, why don't you put in the order while I go get a shower, then we can see what we can find to watch," he said as he stood up and started for the stairs. As he passed me, I suddenly felt the sudden urge to hug him. Kira again seemed to sense my need as my arms wrapped around him, and after a second I felt his arms go around me.

"What brought this on?" I heard him ask, surprise evident in his voice.

"Nothing, I just felt like it. I don't think I've been doing it nearly enough." I said into his shoulder, a hint of moisture in my eyes.

He didn't say anything, just tightened his grip, we just stood there enjoying the moment. The pain in my back was worth it. He pulled out of the hug after a few minutes and the smile he gave me this time was more genuine and less tired, he then ruffled my hair which he knew I hated, laughing softly as I batted his hand away he headed up the stairs.

After I heard him close his bedroom door, I quietly said: "Thank you for that Kira." My arms hanging at my sides after she had helped me raise my tired arms to help me hug my dad.

" _Your welcome,_ " she said just as quietly.

Shaking off the moment, with Kira's help I placed our order and got out the plates and glasses and put them on the coffee table as well as iced tea for me and another beer for him. I finally sat down with relief.

As I sat there just trying to will the pain in my back and head away without much success, Kira seemed to be content with the silence.

A little while after I sat down I heard the shower shut off and dad make his way back to his room, another few minutes later he made his way down and plopped down on the couch next to me. I hid my wince as it jostled my back.

"So what are we watching tonight," he asked "and please don't say Princess Bride." was said with a mock horror on his face.

"Philistine," I exclaimed in just as much mock horror "you dare besmirch the beauty and wonder of a classic movie. I should have you flogged." Despite my pounding head I barely keep the grin off my face as the old routine of his reluctance to see the movie, when he was the one that had introduced it to me in the first place.

"You've seen it at least twenty times!" he exclaimed following his part.

"Twenty three to be precise but that's beside the point. What's important is that it's a classic that can be enjoyed over and over and has something for everyone to like." I said with a triumphant smile. Before he could continue, there was a knock at the door signaling the arrival of our dinner. Needless to say, we watched Princess Bride.

By the time credits were rolling both of our eyes were trying their best to close. Turning off the movie and standing up dad stretched and let out a loud yawn.

"I'm going to head on up to bed," he said as he bent down to place a kiss on top of my head. "Thanks for tonight, I think we needed something like this."

I smiled up at him and said: "Me too dad, we should do it more often." I was feeling better than I had in a long time about he and I, even if all we had done was watch a movie we had both long since memorized, it was a start.

After he had gone up to his room, I had to ask Kira to help me up as my body was apparently still on strike at the moment. Chuckling she got me off the couch, up the stairs, and into my room.

My clothes changed into pajamas as we made our way to the bed and got comfortable, the feeling of control returning to me.

"So how does this work?" I asked feeling excited yet still a bit nervous.

" _It's quite simple as it is now,_ " she said projecting feelings of comfort and safety to help calm my nerves. " _I only need to continue to further the connection that I already have in your mind and complete the merger with your body. The connection to the body will finish first and then the full bonding of our minds._ "

" _After the bonding is complete we'll need to rest to acclimate to the changes._ " she finished, then a mischievous tone entered her voice as she added, " _When we wake up we can go test out the upgrades._ "

I laughed at that and felt my remaining nervousness fade away. "I'm ready when you are," I said with a smile growing on my face.

I was grateful that we were doing this laying in my bed as my back made even laying down painful but at least the mattress was soft. The tingling began subtly, throughout my body and began to slowly increase in intensity.

" _Almost done sweetie,_ " she murmured gently. I could feel her surprise a moment later just before a spike of pain rammed through my brain. My senses exploded, flooding me with sensory information too fast to understand.

I heard a scream in my mind as well as my ears as darkness claimed us.

We were floating in a void filled with stars.

"I've been here before/ _Where am I?_ "

Filling the horizon were two massive serpentine shapes made up of billions of mirrored scales covering their immense forms as they floated above a small blue planet.

"I've seen this before./ _What are they?_ "

The undulating forms twisted about each other occasionally brushing against each other, with each impact thousands of scales were dislodged and were sent spinning into the void to rain down upon the planet below.

"I know what comes next./ _What's happening?_ "

A significantly larger than average scale broke off and fell towards me as I floated in the void. It seemed to pick up speed as it grew closer. The mirrored scale filled my vision.

"This is gonna hurt./ _Oooh shiiit!_ "

Darkness claimed us once more.


End file.
